


A High Steaks Investigation

by heyguysitsmerob



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Who Could Have Predicted, Yes It's A Fic About Twogami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-26 01:50:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7555441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyguysitsmerob/pseuds/heyguysitsmerob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuya Togami returns to his cottage one morning to find that a despicable act has taken place inside. If Usami won't tell him who the culprit is, he'll have to figure it out for himself. A crime. An investigation. A trial. Takes place during Island Life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Daily Life

Togami steepled his fingers and smirked. All of his guests had finally arrived.

“Is it really alright for us to be skipping out on chores like this?” Koizumi took her seat at the table next to Hinata.

“It’s not like we were going to find anything at the beach, anyway.” He produced some lumpy, gray seashells from his pocket and dumped them on the table. “That’s all I found after looking all day yesterday.”

Koizumi picked up one of them and scrutinized it with a sour expression. “How could you think that these were acceptable? Do you have to be such a _boy_ all the time? Geez.”

Togami cleared his throat. “I’m sure that you’re all wondering why I’ve assembled you here today.” He looked around at each of his guests. Akane Owari sat on his right, as aloof and distracted as ever. As far as he could tell, she was tracking a fly’s progress back and forth around the room. On his left was Hajime Hinata, who had no doubt already formed several theories about the purpose of their gathering. That kind of inquisitiveness would be valuable. On Hinata’s other side sat Mahiru Koizumi, who appeared to be incredibly uncomfortable to be there. The four of them sat in Togami’s lavishly decorated cottage, on the floor at a round coffee table that he had procured in the old hotel building.

“I wasn’t really wonderin’,” Owari had her finger buried in her ear. “But I am hungry. I smell somethin’ good cookin’ around here, somewhere.” Her nose was pointed to the ceiling like a bloodhound.

“Hmph. All will be explained.” Togami made it a point to meet the eyes of each of his classmates individually. All of them immediately looked away.

Koizumi dropped her camera on the table. “Yeah, how long will this take? I promised Saionji that I would use one of my trip tickets to take her to the movies.”

“It’s not like there’s ever more than one movie,” Hinata said.

The room was silent for an uncomfortable collection of moments. “Enough small talk,” Togami said. “I have gathered each of you here because I wish to entrust you with a matter most crucial.” He paused for effect. “You are all to be my confidantes. My cabinet, if you will.”

Owari looked around the room. “It looks like you’ve got plenty of cabinets in here already, man.” He did.

“I’m not interested in being anyone’s _confidante_ . Especially not _yours_.” Koizumi punctuated her statement by jabbing a finger at Togami.

Hinata, at least, appeared sympathetic. “Why do you need a cabinet, Togami? Are you planning something?” These were exactly the kinds of questions that Togami counted on him to ask.

He closed his eyes, taking a breather to drink in the moment. “As things stand, we have no chain of command on this island. The tenuous peace that we enjoy at the moment is only thanks to our minds being occupied by work. What do you think will happen when the work runs out?”

“We take naps?” Owari suggested.

“Anarchy!” Togami slammed his fist on the table. “If everyone is free to do as they please, it’s only a matter of time until someone gets hurt. I need all of you to help me establish order.”

“But why us?” Hinata asked.

“Each of you has skills that I require.” He turned first to Koizumi. “You are to be the voice of reason among the female population of the island, a group that I have never claimed to understand.” Next, he looked to Hinata. “I need you to bounce ideas off of. You ask good questions, and know when it’s time to shut your mouth.”

“That’s it?” he asked.

“Now is one of those times,” Togami said. “Finally, Owari. You must provide the muscle to back up our council. In the worst case scenario, I’ll be relying on you to keep everyone in line.” He omitted the fact that the only reason he didn’t ask Nidai was because his incontinence made him unreliable.

“I refuse,” Koizumi said.

Owari raised her hand. “Me too. Sounds boring.”

The door flew open. Hanamura blew through as a blur of white and brown, holding a gleaming silver platter in his hands. From his chef’s jacket he produced table settings, which appeared in front of those seated almost instantly. He thumped the platter onto the table and removed the lid. Amidst a cloud of steam, Togami spotted a gargantuan pile of steaks in the middle of the plate.

“Of course, I would never ask this of you for free.” Everyone present had their eyes fixed on the food in the middle of the table. Owari’s hands were creeping closer and closer, her nose twitching up and down. Even Hinata and Koizumi were having trouble suppressing their obvious interest. “Hanamura has graciously agreed to cater each of our meetings.” An impressive amount of bribery had been required to finagle this deal, and Togami now had to figure out a way to get Hanamura an hour alone in a room with Sonia. It would be worth it, though, because he had to admit that the smell of the food alone was enough to drive him mad. He expected no less from the Ultimate Cook.

“Today I have prepared for you my Once-in-a-Lifetime, Never Forget It For As Long As You Live, Savory Sweet Filet Mignon Steaks.” Hanamura had one foot propped up on the table with a hand under his chin. He was looking around at everyone, evidently thriving off of their desire. “Bon appétit.”

Their hands surged forward all at once. “Wait!” Togami snapped. They paused, though it was obvious that the dam was about to burst. They wouldn’t be able to hold themselves back much longer, whether they wanted to or not. “This delicious meal is only available to those who agree to join my council.”

“I’m in,” the three of them said simultaneously.

And so it began. There were hands everywhere, grabbing, snatching, clawing. No one spoke as they shoved as much of the meat as they could into their mouths. It cut like butter, and melted on their tongues like it, too. Hanamura had apparently been driven to tears by their obvious bliss. Togami was pleased, to say the least. If he couldn’t have a council of geniuses enticed by justice, then one enticed by food would do just as well.

 

* * *

 

He was walking on air the next day. The joy of having successfully assembled his council allowed him to completely forget the strain of Usami’s most recent task. He had even managed to snatch away a few bonus steaks and stash them in his personal mini-fridge, ready for later. To top it all off, that day was a free day. He could spend it however he chose, with no worries about being sent off to scour the jungle for Jabbafruit. Yes, there was absolutely nothing that could ruin the day for him.

The e-Handbook in the pocket of his dinner jacket vibrated. Pulling it out, he was pleased to discover that his pet had hatched from its egg, and was now crawling around its enclosure with enraptured bliss. A single blob of manure had begun to peek above the rim of the toilet, provoking a tap from Togami that dispatched it with ease. A rumor had been floating around lately that if one managed to raise their pet up into an Usami, she would appear and bequeath its owner with an impressive amount of Monocoins. Whether or not this was true was up for debate, but the thought of how many snacks he could buy from the convenience store with said Monocoins spurred him into action.

It was, like every one before it, a gorgeous day outside. The sun was shining, the faint smell of the sea was being carried by the breeze, and birds were chirping off in the distance. He was truly glad that he had decided to become someone who appreciated the simple things in life. Just as he was thinking this, someone who certainly did not appreciate the simple things appeared. “Good morning, Saionji.” The girl had been about to walk straight past him back to her cottage without so much as a glance.

“Fuck off, turd.”

Togami continued up to Hotel Mirai. That was that, then. He strolled into the restaurant to find Hanamura on a table addressing the room. It appeared that most of the group was present, sitting in their usual scattered clumps of two or three. “If you’ll each look on your e-Handbooks, you’ll find a survey by me at the bottom of the menu.” He twisted his body back and forth so that he could address everyone present at once.

Nidai was stabbing at his e-Handbook with his forefinger like a dad on his first touch screen phone. “These buttons are way too damn small!” It was beginning to look like his finger might penetrate the glass if someone didn’t step in.

“Let Ibuki give you a hand, ya big lug!” Mioda leaned over his shoulder, using her much more slender finger to navigate the screens.

Since Hinata, Togami’s usual breakfast mate, was absent, he sat by himself. Still, in the interest of getting the full experience out of whatever bizarre event was sure to take place, he sat closer to the rest of the students than usual. There were only a few seats on either side between him and the closest other person. Opening up his e-Handbook, there was indeed a new option at the bottom of the menu: “Daily Survey”. Clicking on it, he was presented with a list of options.

Hanamura was buzzing around the room, making sure that everyone was successfully navigating to the screen. “Usami and I have been developing this for awhile!” he said, breezing past Kuzuryuu, who was very clearly struggling to even turn the handbook on. “Do you need help?” He peeked over Sonia’s shoulder.

Souda, sitting next to her, scooted closer. “She’s fine!” he snapped at Hanamura. “See, what you’ve gotta do is…” He trailed off mid-explanation, as it appeared that the object of his adoration was facing the opposite direction.

“Click here and here,” Nanami explained, pointing to different spots on the screen.

Sonia beamed as she arrived at the survey. “Many thanks!”

Komaeda raised his hand, projecting a soft smile. “Could I have some help?” He pointed at his screen. “I can’t seem to find it.”

He had been on the store screen the whole time. “Komaeda! How do you have so many Monocoins?” Teruteru asked, looking over his fluffy hair.

“Just lucky, I guess.”

Togami disregarded the commoners’ squabbles and turned his attention back to his own handbook. The screen read, in blocky letters, “What should Teruteru Hanamura cook for dinner tonight?” with a pixelated image of Hanamura holding a spatula jumping up and down next to it. Beneath were three options: Crab-Stuffed Lobster Tail with Garlic Bread, Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice, and Sweet and Sticky Surprise. He picked the lobster tail immediately. Things like lobster were what Byakuya Togami probably ate all the time when he wasn’t on the island, after all. He turned his handbook off and pushed it to the side. All of this thinking about food had begun to rile his stomach up.

Hanamura appeared before he could mobilize toward the kitchen. “So, which one did you pick?” There were sparks in his eyes as he looked back and forth between the handbook on the table and its owner. Something switched inside him. “You seem like a sweet and sticky kind of guy, yeah?” he asked, leaning toward Togami across the table. He found himself unable to meet his eyes.

“I picked the lobster tail. I don’t see what the point of a survey is if you have unlimited ingredients, anyw—”

“Eek!”

Togami’s head snapped around, looking for the source of the scream. Had it finally happened, at a moment when he wasn’t prepared? Had one of his classmates finally lost it? Students at neighboring tables leapt to their feet in a hurry, craning their necks over rows of chairs to see what was going on.

Tsumiki had tripped again.

This time she had apparently collided with a chair, which she was now straddling on the ground with her posterior on display for everyone in the restaurant. Her skirt had been flipped up completely, sticky gravy from whatever she had been eating for breakfast covering her legs and chest, and the only protection from an awkward silence was her wailing. It was nothing the gang hadn’t seen before.

Kuzuryuu was the first to speak up. “Shut the fuck up! It’s too damn early for this shit.” He was clenching his apple so hard that it looked like it was about to burst.

While he had some qualms with his phrasing, Togami was tempted to agree. He jammed his e-Handbook back down into his pocket and strode off toward the kitchen, leaving the others to clean up Tsumiki’s mess.

 

* * *

 

The world came back into focus as Togami wrapped up his breakfast. Everything occupying the space around him had become irrelevant as soon as the food touched his plate. Finally, the sauce coating his fingertips and animal bones littering the table in front of him registered in his mind. He had let it happen again: _The Breakfast State._ He hurriedly dabbed at the new stains on his sleeve with a napkin and discarded it on the floor where no one would find it. As he rose from the table he felt something odd in his pocket, and investigation yielded buffalo sauce on his hand. He had put a chicken wing in his pocket.

He couldn’t allow himself to continue to lose control like this whenever breakfast was involved. Shaking his head back and forth to clear any further thoughts of food, he began to walk out of the restaurant. If he couldn’t devise a way to control his animalistic meal habits, his classmates would surely begin to take notice. That could be the chink in his armor to incite a rebellion.

Of course everyone in the restaurant had noticed his frenzied eating, they just appeared not to care. The room had largely cleared out by the time he was coming down from his high, and the only ones remaining, Saionji, Koizumi, and Souda, were all seated at one table. “You mean that the pig-bitch fell again and I _missed it_?” Saionji asked.

“If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,” Souda assured her. Sonia had managed to sneak out of the restaurant when he wasn’t looking, leaving him alone to ponder where he should begin to search.

“Yeah,” Saionji gestured to Koizumi’s camera. “But we still haven’t gotten it on _film_!”

Togami only dimly registered their conversation. His mind was ablaze as he speed-walked back to his cottage. Perhaps he could sequester himself away into his room for all of his meals? It would certainly mask the act itself if it were successful, however, it raised the question of whether or not he would be able to restrain himself between the main building and his cottage. Retrieving second helpings would also become a much larger ordeal. Plus, if suspicions hadn’t been raised before, they certainly would be then.

As he neared his cottage, his thoughts were interrupted by another buzz in his pocket. It should have been too early for his pet to evolve again, but he disregarded that; he was eager to go ahead and collect his Monocoins. It was with trembling fingers that he navigated back to the pet screen. How would he spend his reward when he went to Rocketpunch Market later? Should he ration out his Monocoins like always and just buy a bag of chips to start with, or should he splurge just for once and go for a Cod Roe Baguette? With the founding of his council, it was a special occasion, after all.

What greeted him upon opening his pet screen was the exact opposite of what he had been hoping to see. In place of the bedazzled rabbit that he had expected, a horrific abomination danced merrily across the surface of his handbook. As if to rub salt in the wound, the name of the creature was displayed on the wall of the fake house: “Shitimi”.

Togami shouted Usami’s name without a moment’s hesitation. What kind of glitch was this? How dare this literal stinking pile of shit mock him, running around its room like some kind of heathen? It seemed completely unbothered by the mounds of feces covering every inch of its body, only serving to deepen Togami’s anger.

“What is it, Togami?” Usami had appeared completely out of nowhere like usual.

It had long since ceased to bother him. “I demand an explanation!” He shoved his e-Handbook into her face, jabbing a meaty finger at the sinful display currently unfolding.

Usami took a second before she registered what she was seeing. Her face fell. “You haven’t taken very good care of your pet, huh…” She looked down at the ground. Togami pursed his lips. “You must really hate it, huh…” It became evident that she was waiting for him to jump in and deny it.

“You don’t understand at all.” Togami put his handbook back into his pocket and crossed his arms. “I fed this charlatan every last bag of scented potpourri in my possession until all of its hearts were filled. Yet now I am confronted with this hideous monstrosity.”

“Well that shouldn’t have happened!” Usami’s face was scrunched up, as if she was thinking really hard.

It became obvious that she would be no help. There would certainly be words exchanged with Hinata later regarding the validity of certain claims he had made about the pet. “You will have to think of a way to make it up to me.” He continued walking toward his cottage.

She kept an even pace with him despite her drastically shorter legs. “You like potatoes, don’t you, Togami? I could give you some of those, if you like.”

“Potato _chips_!” he snapped. They arrived at his cottage. “Who would enjoy eating raw potatoes?”

When he tried to turn the doorknob, he found that it was stuck. Taken aback, he examined it closer. In his hurry to escape the annoying rabbit that he had ignorantly summoned, he hadn’t noticed the massive dent in the metal of the handle. Directly on top of where the knob stuck out was an impression about the size of an orange. “And now what’s this?” He stepped aside, presenting the damage to Usami. “I can’t move the handle.”

She waddled closer, putting her entire face up close to it. “Did you get really mad and punch your door one day, Togami?” She thought for a moment. “Did _Nidai_ punch your door one day?”

“No. Hurry up and get it open.” He could ponder over how his door came to be this way as soon as he was inside with no one to bother him.

“As you wish!” Usami twirled around what she referred to as her “Magic Stick”, a ribbon-covered stick that likely came from a cereal box. Pointing it at the door, it’s ruby-red tip began to glow. “Bibidi Bobidi! Bibidi Bobidi!” Togami rolled his eyes. “Bibidibibidi! Bobidibobidi!” He checked his watch. “Bu! Open this door!” The glowing faded and the door opened with an audible _click_. All things considered, the showmanship could have been a lot worse.

Upon stepping inside, his ears immediately began to ring. As if a thousand people were dragging their hands down invisible chalk boards while wailing, the sound penetrated his eardrums and reverberated around his skull. His eyes flicked from one corner of the room to the next, back and forth, up and down, trying to make any sense of the situation. To make matters worse, darkness had begun to encroach on the edges of his vision. All at once he felt incredibly lightheaded, stumbling backwards and eventually falling on his bottom in the doorway. How could this be?

“Togami! Togami!”

He hadn’t realized that he was screaming. Pulling himself together, he closed his mouth and got back to his feet. The shock of it all left him feeling woozy and weak. It took all of his strength just to go a few more paces into the room to see things more clearly. The door to his mini fridge was wide open with a pool of blood at the opening. Togami had understood exactly what transpired the moment he stepped into the room. He didn’t need to look into the fridge to confirm what had happened, though he did anyway. As he thought, the Once-In-A-Lifetime, Never Forget It For As Long As You Live, Savory Sweet Filet Mignon Steaks were gone. When he spoke, his voice was completely unfamiliar. It was animalistic and gnarled.

_“Who did this?”_


	2. Investigation

_“Who did this?”_

Togami immediately whirled on Usami, his face transformed into the color and shape of a bruised tomato. Behind the two of them, in his cottage, the door to his refrigerator was cracked open with blood staining the carpet in front of it. His cherished steaks that he had saved from the day before had been stolen.

“You can see everything that goes on, right?” He gestured at the three cameras in his room alone. “So you know who did this. I demand that you tell me.”

Usami began edging her way towards the door. Sweat gushed down her face in droves. “I...I wouldn’t want Togami to be mad at one of his classmates…” she mumbled, evidently torn.

After slamming his refrigerator door shut, Togami approached her. “Someone has broken into _my_ cottage and stolen _my_ property. Tell me who the culprit is this instant!” He maneuvered his way between Usami and the door, leaving her no way to exit.

She looked left and right, standing in place. The carpet was wet with the sweat she exuded. “How about...how about…” Having been struck by inspiration, she pointed her stick up into the air. “A game! Yes! If you can guess who did it on the first try, I’ll tell you. If it’s a game you wouldn’t get mad just for losing, right?” She beamed up at Togami.

“A _game_ ?” The rabbit plushie wanted to settle who stole his steaks with a _game_? It was almost impossible to believe. But, and he hated to admit it, he warmed up to the idea rather quickly. An intellectual game would suit him quite nicely, he decided. In fact, now that the possibility of a challenge was raised, he chastised himself for demanding the answer so petulantly. Byakuya Togami loved complex games, after all. “Yes, if it’s a game you want, then a game you shall have. But a game is nothing without stakes, no?”

“I thought the whole point was that there _were_ no steaks…”

“Be quiet now.” Togami started pacing back and forth in front of his door. His heart rate increased by the minute. A good game was just what he needed to occupy himself on his day off. What’s more, it would give him a chance to demonstrate his intellectual prowess for his classmates. He would need to prove that he was, in fact, superior before governing them. But what would be a suitable reward for his successful defeat of the criminal? It came to him almost immediately. “If I am able to successfully deduce the culprit, then they must do everyone’s chores tomorrow. All of them.” He began walking out the door.

“Togami! That’s crazy!” Usami toddled after him.

He turned on her. “No. What’s crazy is someone believing that they can trifle with Byakuya Togami and get away with it.” The look in his eyes stifled any further protest.

“O...okay, Togami. I just want you to be happy,” she said. Her usual bubbly attitude had evaporated. She looked scared.

“Noted. What I need you to do now is stay here while I round up all of our classmates. Don’t let anyone come in or out of this door until I return.” He turned to walk away.

“Wait, your classmates?” Usami called after him. “Why do they need to get involved?”

Togami turned back to face her for one last remark. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s hardly a class trial without the class.” And then he was gone.

 

* * *

 

It took quite some time to get everyone gathered up. Some were easy to locate and corale; Saionji, Koizumi, and Souda were just exiting the dining hall, while Nidai and Owari were sparring loudly just outside the hotel gates. Frenzied knocking on everyone’s cottage doors yielded Chiaki, who had been curled up under her blanket playing a videogame, Tanaka, who seemed to have gotten his hamsters to dance in synchronization, and Hinata, who had been monologuing silently in the middle of his room.

Others proved to be significantly more difficult to track down. Togami found Pekoyama reading in a silent corner of the library, while Mioda, Sonia, and Tsumiki were all gathered in Titty Typhoon. The latter two were incredibly eager to accompany Togami away from the vocal stylings of their captor. Komaeda actually approached Togami as he was looking for him to ask if anything was amiss, which was helpful, but unsettling. Finally, Hanamura had been giving Kuzuryuu advice on how to talk to girls as the two ate at the diner.

Most of the students required very little prodding to gather in front of his cottage. He told all of them that “Something terrible has occurred, and everyone must be present at my cottage to remedy the situation.” Their compliance indicated that most of them were incredibly bored with nothing to do on their day off.

The sixteen of them, plus Usami, crowded the boardwalk in front of his cottage. All things said and done, it had been about an hour and a half since he discovered the crime scene. “Thank you all for gathering here on such short notice,” he said in his most commanding voice, likely honed over years of training.

“I hope this isn’t about your ‘council’, or whatever.” Koizumi folded her arms.

Owari leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m pretty sure that was a secret,” she said at a normal volume for everyone to hear. Luckily, she was totally disregarded.

“I was engaged in a matter most crucial.” Tanaka’s expression was stern as the fat hamster on his shoulder squeaked to back him up.

“Us, too.” Mioda gestured to herself, Sonia, and Tsumiki, who shook their heads almost imperceptibly. “But…” Her expression softened. “If it’s Byakuya…”

“Call me Togami.” Togami strutted to the doorway of his cottage. “If you’ll all look inside, you’ll find the scene of a crime most heinous.”

“Was someone hurt?” Komaeda asked, sounding less than concerned.

Everyone started looking around to see if anybody was missing, potentially murdered in Togami’s cottage.

“O-o-o-oh god, S-Saionji is gone!”

“I’m down here, you dung beetle!”

“Don’t worry, everybody, the Ultimate Chef is still gracing the land of the living.”

“Sometimes I _wish_ you were dead, Hanamura.”

To catch everyone’s attention again, Togami put his hand into the air. “Don’t worry, nobody has come to any harm.”

Saionji stepped forward. “Well then lead with that before telling us that a crime has been committed, pork feet!” A chorus of agreement followed. “And don’t try to get our attention by putting your hand in the air like a fucking elementary school teacher, ugly.”

He did his best not to let any emotion show on his face while he continued. It was important to remain composed in the face of insubordination. “While no one has been hurt, the matter that I’m about to disclose to all of you is not to be taken lightly.” At this, everyone stopped talking and listened attentively. “While I was eating breakfast—”

“You mean while you were _inhaling_ breakfast!” Souda interrupted. He seemed pleased to have said something funny, and looked to Sonia for approval.

She shook her head. “That was an incredibly mean comment, Souda.” Several other people nodded silently, giving him the stink eye.

Togami widened his stance and gripped his fist, pumping it in front of everyone vigorously. “While I was at breakfast, someone intruded into my cottage and…” He closed his eyes and looked away. “Stole the delicious steaks that Hanamura so graciously cooked for me!”

While everyone processed this information, Hanamura made his way to the front of the crowd. “You’re telling me that the Once-in-a-Lifetime, Never Forget It For As Long As You Live, Savory Sweet Filet Mignon Steaks that I put my whole body into preparing...were stolen?” His country accent that usually appeared when he was upset steadily began working its way into his speech. He put his hand to his forehead and began to stumble. “Bonnie Tyler!” He fell backwards towards Pekoyama, who cleanly sidestepped. The cook hit the ground and did not stand back up.

“Let me get this straight,” Kuzuryuu said. “You gathered us here for a couple of fucking steaks?”

Owari’s mouth was watering at the mere mention of them. “If you’d had any, you would understand.”

“We don’t all have to stand around arguing like a bunch of boys,” Koizumi said. “We can settle this like adults. Whoever stole Togami’s food, just say so. I promise you that nobody cares.” She looked around at everyone individually, who were either in a state of apathy or anticipation. As Togami expected, no one came forward.

“That would be much too easy,” he said. “The culprit has decided to engage with me in a game of wits. We all have one chance to democratically select the criminal. Thus, we should investigate the crime scene thoroughly, leaving no stone unturned.”

“No offense, Togami,” Souda said. “But why should any of us care about your food?” To his satisfaction, a few more people came forward to voice their lack of concern.

“It’s simple,” Togami said. “If we are able to correctly guess the culprit, in one try, Usami has agreed to make them do all of our chores tomorrow.”

Like a herd of stampeding buffalo, the group’s feet pounded the boardwalk as they jostled each other around trying to gain entry to the cottage. Togami had to press himself against the outside to stop from being completely bowled over into the water. In just a few seconds the pathway was completely empty, with the only two left being Usami and Teruteru, one fawning over the other.

_[Investigate]_

“I hope he isn’t hurt!” Usami said, moving around and inspecting Hanamura’s head from different angles.

“I’m sure he’s fine. The cook is nothing if not resilient.” Togami walked around the front of his cottage, examining it from every possible angle.

“Shouldn’t you be inside, investigating with everyone else?” Usami asked.

“What’s most important at this junction is to think about the crime from every possible angle. Consider not only how the criminal entered, but also how they gathered information beforehand.” As he spoke, he observed the window dominating the wall next to the door. From a certain angle he could see not only his classmates buzzing around inside, but the fridge up against the wall on the opposite side. _This could be relevant_ , he thought.

Togami had a system in place for compartmentalizing information. It was much easier to view all of the evidence as completely separate facts, which could be used individually to refute incorrect claims later on. In this way, they would all come together to form a much bigger picture. He even had a name for his completely original system. He jotted it down in the notes section of his handbook.

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Front Window” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

From there, he decided to interview anyone that could have a possible connection to the case. “Usami, could you please tell me everything you can about what happened today?” He squatted down next to her as she attempted to awaken Hanamura.

“If you think it’ll help…” She put her hand to her forehead. “As soon as I woke up, I decided that today was going to be the best day ever! So—”

Togami put his hand up to silence her. “I’m only interested in the case. In fact, please summarize everything you are able to tell me in less than two minutes.”

Usami plopped down onto the ground. “If it’s for you, Togami, I’ll do my best! It all started when you called me to talk about your pet. Then the two of us walked over to your cottage while we were talking about potatoes. After that, we found out that someone broke into your cottage and you got really angry. You told me not to let anyone come through the door and, just like you asked, I didn’t! I waited there the whole time for you to come back with everyone.”

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Usami’s Account” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

“Thank you. That was surprisingly concise,” Togami said.

Hanamura awakened with a start. “Huh? Where am I?” he asked in a full country drawl.

“Everyone else has already started investigating.” Togami pointed into his room, where the other fourteen students were hard at work. “But before you join them, I have some questions.”

Rubbing his head, Hanamura looked into the cottage. The confused look on his face might have been due to not being conscious for the announcement of the reward for guessing correctly. “Yeah, sure. But don’t forget about what you owe me, alright?” He specifically had his eyes on Sonia, down on all fours looking under the bed.

“I won’t. It’s important to me that I know where as many people as possible were during breakfast. How many people did you get to answer that survey of yours earlier?”

Hanamura pulled out his e-Handbook and navigated to a page where he had each response logged. “I didn’t get anybody to take it after Tsumiki put on that delicious show for us.” Hanamura licked his lips while Togami cringed at the memory. “So I only have ten responses. That’s including you and me.” He showed Togami the screen.

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Breakfast Survey” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

This survey would not only tell Togami who was at breakfast when he arrived but, perhaps more importantly, it would also tell him who _wasn’t_ there. “Interesting.” After logging all of the information in his handbook, he got up to walk into the cottage.

“Hey Togami, what’s this about?” Hinata was standing next to the still open door, pointing at the bashed in door knob. “Can it still open and close like this?” He was about to close the door to test it, but Togami put out a hand to stop him.

“No, it doesn’t. It’s puzzling to say the least.”

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Busted Door Knob” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

As soon as he walked into the cottage, Togami was on edge. Part of it was the trauma he experienced there just an hour and a half prior, but there was also something different about the room. Tanaka and Pekoyama were crouching down next to a collection of glass shards on the ground. “How do you think the window was broken?” Pekoyama asked.

Tanaka stroked his chin. “Perhaps the culprit conjured a demon that they could not control…” He looked from the ground to the broken window and back again.

Pekoyama arched an eyebrow. “Perhaps.”

The window wasn’t broken when Togami first discovered the crime scene. What did this imply?

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Broken Window” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

After getting over the initial shock of the newly broken window, he took another look around the room. It certainly looked different with everyone moving around frantically. Tsumiki picked up a lamp to search under it as Mioda looked on in wonder, while Nidai frantically tore books off of the bookshelves searching for clues. Owari and Saionji were scrounging around the bathroom, completely removed from everyone else.

Togami knew that, even more than those actually looking at the clues, he would be relying on those that were standing back and seeing the big picture. Hinata and Chiaki were talking, removed from everyone else, and Komaeda’s gaze swept the room like a radar, back and forth multiple times.

Sonia hopped up from the floor. “Togami, have their always been blood stains under your bed?”

“What?” With great pains, Togami lowered himself to the ground so he could see under his bed. Just as Sonia had said, there were red spots peppered on the carpet.

“In my country, it is customary for adolescents about to bear bastard children to undergo the midnight, under-the-bed bloodletting.” Sonia was down on the ground next to him. “Are you about to bear a bastard child?”

Togami didn’t justify the question with a response.

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Blood Stains” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

As Togami entered this piece of data into his e-Handbook, he was reminded of something. With just a few clicks, he was face-to-face with the creature straight out of his worst nightmare once more. Apparently unphased by his hatred, Shitimi continued to run in merry circles around her virtual prison. He wasn’t exactly sure what this monstrosity had to do with the case, but he went ahead and penned it in anyway.

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Shitimi” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

After he was done, he lowered his handbook to find Nanami patiently waiting for him. “Did you find something?” While this sort of game definitely struck his fancy, he had no understanding of the games that the girl in front of him enjoyed. As such, he suspected that he had only ever said two or three words to her in a row.

“I saw that the door knob was bashed in, and I thought it was strange,” Chiaki said.

“Strange how?”

“Well, the doors lock electronically, right? They only open if you have your e-Handbook. So even if someone knocked the knob clean off, it wouldn’t work.”

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Electric Locks” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

“That’s all.” Nanami turned and walked away, back to where Hinata was waiting for her.

In terms of investigation efficiency, everything was shaping up rather nicely. It was one of his better decisions to get his classmates involved; he had hardly lifted a finger and the evidence was already piling up. He had talked to everyone that he thought had something meaningful to contribute except one.

“Tsumiki.”

Apparently Togami startled her with his approach, as she dropped the lamp that she had been inspecting and allowed the porcelain to shatter all over the carpet. “Ah! I’m sorry!” She immediately got down onto her knees and started picking up the shards.

“Stop.” He had never liked that lamp, and was pleased at the excuse to get rid of it. If they managed to catch the culprit and they had to do everyone’s chores, two good things would’ve come out of the ordeal. “I wanted to ask you about this morning.”

Tsumiki looked up at him. “Wh-what about this morning? It’s...n-not like a-anything interesting happened!” Her eyes told a different story.

Togami looked down his nose at her, groveling on the ground. “I think you know what I’m talking about.”

It took a moment for her to relent. “F-fine...I tripped again. Just...d-d-don’t tell anyone, al-alright?”

“That’s fine. Everyone saw it, anyway.”

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“Tsumiki’s Fall” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

Togami decided that it was about time to review all of his information. He scrolled through his list, revising the shorthand he had used to be more presentable.

_Front Window: One can see into my cottage through the large window on the front._

_Usami’s Account: Usami was with me when I discovered the crime scene. I instructed her not to let anyone else through the door as I went to gather up the rest of the class. She waited there until I came back._

_Hanamura’s Survey: Hanamura took a survey at breakfast about what he should cook for dinner that night. He stopped giving it after Tsumiki fell. Responses are logged from himself, me,_ _Nidai, Owari, Mioda, Sonia, Souda, Kuzuryuu, Tsumiki and Nanami._

_Busted Door Knob: There’s a dent directly above my door knob that prevents it from opening. Upon returning to my cabin, Usami had to get the door open for me._

_Broken Window: The window on the back of my cottage was broken after my initial discovery of the crime scene, with glass shards littering the carpet inside._

_Blood Stains: There are drops of blood on the carpet underneath my bed._

_Shitimi: My pet with maximum hope grew up to be a Shitimi. What a disappointment._

_Electronic Locks: The only way to open the cottage doors is with the respective student’s e-Handbook._

_Tsumiki’s Fall: Tsumiki had another spectacularly clumsy fall during breakfast._

Wincing, he added one last thing.

_Obtained Truth Burger!_

_“The Breakfast State” has been added to the Truth Burgers section of your handbook._

_The Breakfast State: Occasionally when consuming breakfast, I black out until my meal is completely finished. This usually lasts around thirty minutes._

Usami waddled up behind him. “Togami!”

He didn’t turn around, and continued typing in his handbook.

“Togami!”

“Is there anything else that stuck out to you about today?” he asked Tsumiki.

“Togami!” Usami wedged herself in between the two. “Your time is up!”

Finally he looked at her. “My time is up? But you never even told me that I had a time limit to begin with. I haven’t had a chance to look at anything in the bathroom yet.” Owari waved at him through the window. Was she eating something? Did she find the secret supply of chicken nuggets that he kept under the sink? He immediately launched himself forward, but found his way blocked by Usami. Her body was stretched out to its full width of one and a half feet.

“Your teacher is pretty smart! I think that you’ve found all of the necessary clues to figure out who did it.” She puffed her chest out proudly.

“If any of us put stock in what _you_ thought, we would be building sand castles all day.”

“Even so! I prepared a little surprise for you and everyone else on the beach. I think you’re really gonna like it! Huh, where’d he go?” Usami had closed her eyes for just a brief moment, and Togami was already gone. In the bathroom, he was madly gesticulating at Owari. He pointed at the sink, then her mouth. Then himself.

In just a few minutes, the class trial would begin.


End file.
